天文學(xué)系學(xué)生發(fā)現(xiàn)17顆新行星

天文學(xué)系學(xué)生發(fā)現(xiàn)17顆新行星

Finding new planets lurking in space isn’t as hard as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a challenge. High-tech instruments like NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope have provided researchers with a wealth of data that can be mined for new discoveries. University of British Columbia student Michelle Kunimoto did just that and now has 17 brand new planets to her name.

找到潛伏在太空中的新行星并不像以前那么難，但這并不意味著這不是一個挑戰(zhàn)。像美國宇航局開普勒太空望遠(yuǎn)鏡這樣的高科技儀器為研究人員提供了大量的數(shù)據(jù)，可供挖掘新發(fā)現(xiàn)。不列顛哥倫比亞大學(xué)(University of British Columbia)的學(xué)生米歇爾庫尼莫托(Michelle Kunimoto)就是這么做的，現(xiàn)在她名下有17顆全新的行星。

Kunimoto, a PhD candidate, is the lead author of a new paper published in The Astronomical Journal that describes the 17 new planets in rough detail. We don’t know much about them, but at least one of them is approximately Earth-sized and is thought to be rocky, just like our own planet.

Kunimoto是一位博士候選人，他在《天文雜志》上發(fā)表了一篇新論文，對這17顆新行星進(jìn)行了粗略的描述。我們對它們了解不多，但至少有一個和地球差不多大，被認(rèn)為是由巖石構(gòu)成的，就像我們的星球一樣。

Many of the 17 planets are quite large and are thought to be mostly gas. There are lots and lots of gas planets out there, but finding smaller, rocky worlds has proven more difficult for astronomers. The planet now labeled KIC-7340288 b is around 50 percent larger than Earth and it happens to be in the so-called “Goldilocks” zone of its star, meaning that it may be warm enough on its surface to support liquid water.

這17顆行星中有許多都相當(dāng)大，被認(rèn)為主要是氣體。宇宙中有許許多多氣體行星，但事實證明，要找到更小的巖石行星對天文學(xué)家來說更加困難。這顆現(xiàn)在被標(biāo)記為KIC-7340288 b的行星比地球大50%左右，而且它恰好位于其恒星的所謂“適居帶”，這意味著它的表面可能有足夠的溫度來支持液態(tài)水。

“This planet is about a thousand light years away, so we’re not getting there anytime soon!” Kunimoto said in a statement. “But this is a really exciting find since there have only been 15 small, confirmed planets in the Habitable Zone found in Kepler data so far.”

“這顆行星離我們大約有1000光年遠(yuǎn)，所以我們不會很快到達(dá)那里!”Kunimoto在一份聲明中說。“但這確實是一個令人興奮的發(fā)現(xiàn)，因為到目前為止，在開普勒的數(shù)據(jù)中只發(fā)現(xiàn)了15顆小的、已被證實的宜居帶行星。”

The discoveries were made using a technique that has become popular amongst exoplanet hunters in which the light of a star is observed closely for changes in brightness. When a star’s brightness temporarily fades, it indicates something passing in front of the star, from Earth’s perspective. These passes, called transits, can tell astronomers a surprising amount about the objects orbiting a star.

這些發(fā)現(xiàn)是利用一種在系外行星獵人中很流行的技術(shù)完成的，這種技術(shù)通過仔細(xì)觀察一顆恒星的光的亮度變化。當(dāng)一顆恒星的亮度暫時減弱時，從地球的角度來看，這表明有什么東西從恒星前面經(jīng)過。這些瞬變的過程，這種被稱為凌日的現(xiàn)象，可以告訴天文學(xué)家關(guān)于圍繞恒星運行的物體的驚人數(shù)量。

Details such as how long it takes the planet to complete an orbit and how much light it blocks as it passes in front of the star offer clues to its size and orbit. Astronomers can make a few assumptions based on that data and paint a clearer picture of what is lurking out in the cosmos.

諸如行星完成一個軌道需要多長時間，以及它在恒星前面經(jīng)過時擋住了多少光線等細(xì)節(jié)，都為它的大小和軌道提供了線索。天文學(xué)家可以根據(jù)這些數(shù)據(jù)做出一些假設(shè)，并更清楚地描繪出宇宙中隱藏著什么。